Lack of sleep poses serious long-term health impacts for men

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Everyone needs it, but we just can’t seem to get enough of it and that is leading to some serious health implications, especially for Canadian men. A new study is highlighting just how sleep-deprived we’ve become.

The research comes from the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation and President Wayne Hartick says they found one-third of men between the ages of 30 and 49 are only getting four to six hours of shut-eye a night. With those numbers, that makes them officially sleep deprived and is leading to long term health impacts.

“If you’re getting less than five hours of sleep a night, you have a better than 60 per cent chance of having a heart attack over your lifetime and if you’re getting less than six hours of sleep a night on a regular basis, you’re 50 per cent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and 33 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer.”

Hartrick adds men need to make more time for sleep by ditching the screens before bed, making sure bedrooms are dark and cool and try using white noise to get more and better rest.

“Forty-five per cent of men reported watching shows just before they go to sleep or 41 per cent said they were still on the Internet and those things keep your brain activated which then prevent you from falling asleep properly.”

Doctors say men should be getting at least seven hours of sleep a night. “It’s a great way to speed up your metabolism, reduce your chances of having a heart attack, prostate cancer and developing type 2 diabetes,” says Dr. Larry Goldenberg, Chairman of the CMHF. “In some cases, for men experiencing erectile dysfunction, the cause may be obstructive sleep apnea which is characterized by snoring and breathless spells during sleep. Overall, sleep impacts your health and well-being.”

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